SALEM, Va. – Guilford College’s Laura Hall (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Baldwin) was named Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC)/Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year in addition to Third Team All-ODAC Tuesday. The Quakers’ Brooks Bray (Thomasville, N.C. / Ledford) and Makayla Carver (Granite Falls, N.C. / South Caldwell) were second-team all-conference according to voting by league softball coaches based on statistics in conference play.
Hall recently concluded her fourth and final campaign with the Quakers’ softball team. In 18 ODAC contests, Hall batted .347 with 17 hits, 14 runs scored, 12 stolen bases and three RBIs. The four-year starting outfielder made 38 total appearances this season and set career highs in batting average (.365), stolen bases (20), runs batted in (15), hits (38) and runs scored (28).
Hall played in 148 games, seventh-most in school history, was a .315 career hitter and ranks third in school history with 101 runs scored. She broke Guilford’s career stolen bases standard this spring with 57 thefts in 63 attempts and holds the record for most sacrifice hits (28) in program history.
To compliment her athletic accomplishments, Hall is also a standout performer in the classroom. In 2015 she was named a National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American Scholar-Athlete and was one of 12 national recipients of the Haier Achievement Award (honorable mention) for her accomplishments in the classroom and the community. Hall garnered the ODAC/Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award in 2015 and is the first Quakers’ softball player to win the award twice and third two-time honoree in the award’s history. A three-time Academic All-ODAC honoree and dean’s list selection, she is a member of Guilford’s Honors Program, a peer educator and a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representative. She served in a volunteer capacity with AmeriCorps and as a student-teacher at nearby Guilford Elementary School. Hall maintains a 3.9 grade point average and will graduate this spring with a double major in English and elementary education.
Bray, a 5-6 senior outfielder, enjoyed a career year in her fourth campaign with the Quakers this spring. Bray made 17 appearances in league play with 16 starts. She hit .408 with a team-high 20 hits against conference opponents, scored 13 runs and collected eight RBIs. She appeared in 40 games for the Quakers this spring and posted career-highs in batting average (.370), hits (37), extra-base hits (13) and home runs (4). She scored 23 runs and drove in 13 more, tying her career high.
Bray made 113 appearances with 96 starts over her four years in Greensboro. She leaves the program a .332 hitter with 86 career hits, 54 runs scored, seven home runs, 34 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Her five career triples rank seventh in program history. A sport management major, Bray served as a manager for the Quakers’ football team in 2014 and will graduate later this month.
Carver, a 5-8 freshman two-way performer, started her career in impressive fashion this season. In 15 ODAC appearances, she led Guilford with a .413 batting average and tallied 19 hits, nine runs scored, six RBIs and nine stolen bases. She made 29 starts in 37 overall appearances and hit a team-high .426. She led the Quakers’ offense in hits (46), runs (31) and stolen bases (24), a figure that set the school standard and ranked fourth league-wide. She shared the team lead with 10 doubles and placed second with 23 RBIs. Carver also made 12 appearances in the circle with eight starts before suffering a hand injury mid-season. She was 5-5 with a 4.99 earned run average and 30 strikeouts in 53.1 innings pitched.
The trio helped coach Dennis Shores’ Quakers to a 25-18 overall record (8-10 ODAC). Guilford qualified for its third straight ODAC Tournament this year and could return as many as 21 letterwinners from the 2016 club, including Carver.